How to Get an Advanced Bible Degree for Free

Wisdom and understanding are everywhere available but are nevertheless ostensibly rarely found. A student of the Word must be diligent in their search but there are least two problems in their way.

First, with such a wealth of information, where does one start? Certainly, if the writing of many books is endless, then the reading of the same is doubly so. If you attend a school, then a teacher can guide your reading. But does that mean that everyone should embark on lengthy and expensive degree programs in the hopes that they will gain a better understanding of the scriptures? Certainly, this is sufficient. But is it necessary?

The second problem is money. If we are to follow such a goal, the cost is heavy. It may be worth it, but only time will tell.

In this post, I will address these problems head-on. I intend to show you a cost-free way to experience a seminary education. All you need to invest is time.[1] If you’ve graduated seminary and already forgotten much of what you’ve learned, here are a number of low- to no-cost options to keep you sharp.

I am regularly astounded at the resources available to the Body of Christ, including both leaders and laypeople. Places like biblicaltraining.org and biblicalelearning.org offer seminary-level courses for free. There are also several schools that make courses available for free on iTunesU. Other outlets like Credo Courses offer various classes and entire programs at a reasonable price. Credo also regularly makes courses available at steep discounts, along with relevant teaching and study material. There are also a wide variety of free resources readily available on YouTube.

Here’s the question that drives the rest of this post: could someone replicate my graduate degree[2] through these sources? Could such a thing be done? A little bit of time, and whole lot of caffeine answered that question. I present to you a hypothetical 60-unit Degree in Biblical Studies.[3] All of these “courses” are taught by professors with earned doctorates from top universities. The majority are well-known and well-respected scholars in their fields.